That time Hermione cursed
by Nilla99
Summary: One day, the summer after the war.


"Hey - your not looking!"

It was summer at the Burrow. Hermione lay in the grass under the willow tree, letting the sun that streamed through the leaves softly sprinkle over her in constantly changing figures. Ron, Ginny, Harry and George had been playing quiddich. Hermione had sneaked away promising that she would be watching, when she had really been sticking her nose in a book. She always brought to many books, and always felt guilty when she ended up reading only a few of them. She had put the book away now though, the warm day and the light hiss from the tree made her kind of sleepy. She'd taken of her shoes so she could feel the grass tickling between her toes and they now rested beside her. She had put the book on her belly and closed her eyes, smiling from time to time when she heard her friends shouting or laughing at each other. All that was broken now though, as Ron was standing over her with broom in hand.

"What?" Hermione said, slightly startled by the boy suddenly standing over her and wondering if she might just have dosed of for a minute or two.

"Your not looking! You said you where gonna be looking!" said Ron, sounding like a child showing his mother that he could ride a bike without training wheels.

"I was! I just got a bit sleepy and I closed my eyes for like one second." said Hermione, raising herself to a sitting position. Ron sat down next to her, and give her a a teasing smile.

"It's okay, I saw you reading. I knew you weren't gonna be watching."

He looked quite dreamy. The summer had added millions of teny-tiny freckles to his already spotted face, his red hair was a mess from riding the broom and still panting slightly making his shoulders look even broader. He smelled like sweat, dirt and Ron, witch made Hermione's belly sing with butterflies.

"Tease," Hermione punched him slightly on the arm as a try to avoid sinking to deeply into those blue pools smiling at her, "how did it go then?"

"Fine, until my chaser got a theory that the snitch was hiding in Harry's throat. Thought he got that out about seven years ago" Ron nodded to Harry and Ginny, who sat on the grass snogging like no one was around. Hermione looked back at Ron, and saw he was looking at her with a small grin on his face. She gave a smile back at him and turned to look at her toes playing in the grass.

A warm breeze creeped up her neck. She laid a hand on her forehead, closed her eyes and gave a quite happy sigh as the warmth spread trough her body. It wasn't easy having a huge tangle of brown hair in the summer, even if she mostly stayed in the shade, but Hermione felt she didn't care much for some reason.

"You okay?" Hermione turned to Ron, and saw he had a far to worried frown on his face.

"It's fine, it's just.. it's just the heat." Hermione said, cursing inside (well, not really) for seeming weakened by the heat when she'd stayed in the shade all afternoon.

"You want me to get you some water?" Ron said, and was on his feet before she could stop him.

"Ron, it's really nothing I can go get it myself." Hermione tried but Ron just brushed it off.

"Ribbish! I was gonna go get some for myself anyway, you just stay here."

Hermione didn't like when he treated her like she was weak just cause she was his girlfriend now. She could still take care of herself, and was determined to do so. Yet she couldn't help but smile as Ron ran across the lawn and into the house.

Hermione turned to Harry and Ginny, who where now laughing to each other and holding hands through there gloves. She gave a sad smile at the look of them. They'd had it so easy. Right after the battle it was like nothing had happened between them, like Harry hadn't been away for a year or just defeated the most powerful wizard there ever was. Not even Fred's funeral had been an obstacle, they'd hold hands though the whole ceremony and gave each other mournful kisses from time to time.

She shouldn't complain. She really loved Ron, and she knew he loved her too. But since the kiss in the Room Of Requirement, there had been like a invisible wall between them that was just hard to break through. After the battle there had just been so much to going on that there was only time for holding hands or short embraces. Short after Hermione had gone to Australia to bring her parents home, and came back to the Burrow just two days before Fred's funeral. With the preparations and the relatives staying over there was just not much time for them to be alone. At Fred's funeral though, Ron had taken Hermione's hand and led her to an empty room in the house and kissed her. However, this was an act influenced by too much firewhisky and heartbreaking sorrow - Hermione had even tasted the tears streaming down Ron's face as they kissed - and Hermione didn't think Ron had actually remembered this the morning after. It was now a week since the funeral and nothing more had happened than handholding and red cheeks as someone accidentally bummed a knee into the others under the breakfast table. It wasn't like she wanted them to behave like Ron and Lavender had done, with a snogging festival as soon as they stayed in the same room for too long, but it was hard trying not to touch him when she really wanted to.

Hermione really shouldn't complain though. No, she didn't have the right to. Ron had been really sweet and they where talking just like they had before, the bickering slightly turned down maybe but they had fun together. Jet, she couldn't stop feeling guilty for wanting to go back to the night of Fred's funeral just so he would kiss her, even touch her, again.

All this had of course created a whirlwind of worry in Hermione's stomach. Didn't he like her anymore? Was the handholding just something he did for comfort? But he wouldn't hold hands with Harry, would he? Was the kiss at the funeral the only kiss she would ever get from Ron? She surely couldn't take the initiative and put that kind of pressure on him when he was still sad and his mind clearly, and with every right, was occupied with other thoughts than kissing his girlfriend. No, Hermione really didn't have any right to crave anything from Ron right now.

Instead she smiled at the grinning redhead, half-running towards her with two glasses of water. At least she had this. At least he was alive. At least - he was hers.

"Thanks" Hermione said as Ron gave her a glas and sat down next to her. He swiped the whole glas down at once with big gulps, grunting when it was empty. Hermione tasted the water herself and felt the cold liquid run down her throat, spreading around her spine like a cold breeze and making her feel much better at once.

"Feeling better?" said Ron.

"Mh-hm" Hermione said as she closed her eyes and listened to the vind through the willow, feeling like she was swaying just like it in slow, soft strokes back and forth.

She laid down in the grass again, watching the sun though the leaves make Ron's face sprinkled with gold. Ron laid down on his belly beside her, brought up on his elbows, as he reached and played with a curl in her hair.

"I like your hair" he said childishly, curling it between his fingers.

"It get's really warm in the summer, though" said Hermione, avoiding the obvious complement.

"Yeah?" asked Ron, glancing up from her hair.

"Yeah. It's a lot of hair. I'd rather have something like this in the summer." Hermione reached and pulled a hand through Ron's hair.

"Could I- could I feel it?" Ron asked, slightly red in the ears.

Hermione didn't really knew what he ment but sat up anyway with her back against him.

This felt even better than the water. Even though Ron had big hands his touch was gentle as he reached under her untidy mane and stroked her neck and scalp with his fingertips, sending goospiples running down her shoulders and knees.

"Wow, it's really warm under here." said Ron and dragged his hand out though his fingers.

"Told you so" Hermione answered.

As Ron once again stroked her warm neck with his light touch, Hermione couldn't stop herself from giving a small moan. As soon as she heard herself though she tensed and looked down at her hands laying in her lap, with heat rising on her cheeks, causing Ron's hand to slip out of her curls once again.

"I'm sorry, it just felt nice" muttered Hermione towards her hands. She couldn't believe what she'd just done. A moan?! That was most likely the most embarrassing thing that could've ever come out of her mouth at a time like this, or at any time at all. And not only that, but she where now sending him signals to keep touching her when she had promised that she wouldn't pressure him to do so. With that small moan, she had made such a nice and innocent act all loaded and tense.

"I think I'll go inside. The heat is really getting to me" Hermione tried to sound as cheerful as possible, but she couldn't quite meet Ron's eye. She just picked up her shoes and book and darted for the door.

As she walked over the lawn she saw Harry and Ginny laughing again, Ginny slightly touching Harrys cheek. She couldn't help but send them a jealous glare, witch none of them saw anyway since they seemed to have eyes for only each other. Why did they have it so easy? Why was Ginny touching Harry all the time, when Ron didn't even send her a slight squeeze as they where holding hands? Why did she have to moan and ruin a perfectly wonderful afternoon?

Filled with frustration, she did the only thing she could think of that would break the cute couple apart and slammed the door behind her.

The rest of the afternoon Hermione spent inside. She'd helped Mrs Wesley with the laundry, paring and folding socks for what seemed to be ages, before she took a quick shower too cool her head. She spent all this time worrying what would happen the next time they would see each other, something she felt she'd rather avoid for some time. Would they both get all embarrassed and make short, stalking sentences trying to get past it all? Or would they act like nothing had happened, whilst still not being able to make eye contact? Hermione even took it as far as to say maybe they should just break it of. Not because of the moan, of course not, but just to give him space so she couldn't make anymore mistakes and then maybe they could get back together when Ron felt more up to it. It even seemed like a good idea. Ron wasn't obligated to be her boyfriend just because she'd kissed him, and Hermione could finally stop worrying. Maybe he would like her better if she didn't worry so much.

When she'd had just about enough of these thoughts and was in a desperate need of a distraction, she sat down in the large sofa in the living room and opened her book once again. It was hard distracting herself though, especially since she could see everything that was happening outside. Harry, Ginny, Ron and George still joked around, even though it was getting late and the sky was beginning to pink up. They where balancing on the low cut chicken fence trying to knock each other of, like a duel, competing together two at the time while the others cheered at there companions at the side. It seemed to give most cheers when someone landed on the inside of the chicken fence, where you could accidentally land on a piece of chicken poo or a patch of mud and be covered with feathers. It was going well for Harry in the beginning, he beat down both Ron and George without any trouble. But when it was Ginny's turn he fell down on the grass at the first push. Hermione suspected he didn't want to hurt his girlfriend to much, but was surprised to see that Ginny then beat down Ron, who was both biggest and talest of them all while Ginny was the opposite. When it was George's turn against Ginny, it didn't go quite as well. They tussled for a while, George gripping Ginny's shoulders while Ginny took a hold of his t-shirt, before they both fell over to the chickens who gobbled furiously and sprang away.

Several duels later, one including George pretending to loose balance and hanging on to Ron's pants so that he fell to the ground with them wrapped around his ankles, Mrs Weasley opened the kitchen window and shouted that dinner was ready. They made Ginny the champion, and her price was to kiss the beautiful princess in form of a chicken that George held up infront of her. Ginny settled for Harry instead, and kissed him on the cheek. Then she patted Harry's tangled hair and called him "my pretty princess" witch wasn't treated with just as much gratitude as the kiss. As they edged closer to the door, Hermione opened her book on a random page and pretended to be reading without seeing or hearing them at all.

"Pathetic!" George said, as they came through the door, "I can't believe you lost to a girl, your own sister!"

"I slipped! My shoe was really slippery from falling on that patch of mud from before" Ron defended himself.

"Hey! I could take any of you down, and you guys know it! I was just being nice to you because were siblings" said Ginny with a spark in her eye.

"I'm your brother too, you weren't nice to me when you knocked me down that third time. I landed on a stone and now my shoulder really hurts" said Ron, stroking his shoulder.

"Well, after winning over my older brother two times I just had to see if I could do it a third time. And I could!" said Ginny, slamming George hand in a highfive.

"Oh, boys, you stink!" said Mrs. Weasley. She was right, everywhere they went it stank of old chicken dust and feathery mud.

"Exactly my point!" said Ginny, grinning at her brothers and Harry, not bothering much that her mother had forgotten she was a girl.

Ron had slipped from the group and was walking over to Hermione. She could feel his eyes on her but didn't lift her eyes from the page she was pretending to read.

"Hey" he said, sitting down on the coffee table in front of her.

"Oh, Ron, you stink!" said Hermione. The smell was almost unbearable when this close and Hermione hide her nose behind the book.

"Well, we were thinking of going down to the pond and taking a swim later. You wanna come?" The pond was in fact just outside the door, but Hermione felt sort of important when he asked her anyway. Like it was a big deal or something.

"Yeah, okay" Hermione said, and closed her book, "but I'm not sitting next to you at dinner."

"Yeah, yeah, I stink I get it" Ron grinned and took her hand to lead her to the dinner table where everyone where now seated.

".. and now my arm really hurts" George said in a mocking babylike voice when Ron sat down on an empty seat next to Ginny. Hermione sat down next to Mrs. Weasley on the other side.

"Oh, shut it!" said Ron and started putting mashed potato on his plate.

Hermione couldn't remember what she had been obsessing about all day, she was just glad to see Ron shooting sudden glances at her across the table.

They all jumped in, even Hermione after trying to find a path down the water but realizing soon that no such path would be found and her four friends shouting "JUMP! JUMP! JUMP!" from the water. It was icing cold as her skin first touched the surface, but after a few strokes back and forth her skin had adapted and it was actually quite refreshing.

"Oh, by the way Harry, you better watch out for the Grubbfish. They can be quite aggressive if they're woken by the day." said George with a spark in his eye.

"What's Grubb-" Harry started, but just something had grabbed his ankle and he shot under the water. He quickly resurfaced though, his glasses askew and looking with a frown at Ginny who peaked through a curtain of hair, smiling her sweetest smile as an apology. Harry couldn't hold it against her long and started laughing with the both of them.

Hermione was floating in the water, hearing only part from the conversation as the soft waves licked her ears. With her eyes closed she didn't see Ron swimming towards her.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked. Hermione jumped some at the words and gave a small splash. Ron tried to hide his grin.

"No, but I could easily get mad" Hermione warned, still floating, "why would I be mad?"

"Well, you know this afternoon when you just ran away like that and slammed the door. You haven't said anything about it but you've been keeping your distance ever since." Ron said, with a slightly scared expression. She loved how after all these years of her shouting at him, she could still sense a hint of fear in his face.

Though this time she felt quite scared all the same. She couldn't tell him about what she'd been thinking about, especially not the thing she thought about them splitting up. That seemed impossible by now. And of course he had a right to ask after her acting so suspiciously. But could she really tell him about how she just wished he had kept going, stroking her hair like that? Or that all she really wanted was for him to kiss her and to touch her? No, she had promised. She wouldn't put that pressure on him.

"Well, I just felt sort of embarrassed" she told him, witch was true.

"Of what?" said Ron, trying to recall anything embarrassing but not finding anything.

"It was.. It was.." said Hermione, now standing up from her time floating and facing him, "It was that moan I did. It was really silly and I didn't want you to get the wrong impression, you know? So I just panicked and went inside instead."

Ron roller his eyes at her slightly, witch made Hermione want to pinch him hard on the shoulder he'd been complaining about some hours ago.

"That was what you where upset about?! I didn't mind about that! I just thought you liked it." Ron said, the top of his ears now turning slightly red, "I was actually.. actually quite turned on by it."

Anger boiled in Hermione, as embarrassment painted her face bright red.

"NOT. MY. POINT!" she yelled as she punched hard three times on the shoulder, water splashing around her.

"Watch it! What is your point then?" said Ron, shielding his shoulder with his hand. The expression on his face quite hurt, like he'd just confessed something really awkward and that she had judged him for it.

"My point is.." Hermione began but didn't know how to finish, "my point is you have been acting really reserved against me, not wanting to touch me or-or kiss me. And I thought it was because all of the things that had been going on and how you simply just didn't have time for me, and I wanted to respect that and let you come to turn with all this relationship-stuff in your own time. I didn't want to pressure you just because I, well.. just because I wanted you to touch me. So when you stroke me like that it felt really good and I just forgot about all this stuff because I was to excited that you where touching me. So I moaned. And then I felt really bad about it cause maybe then I was sending you signals about me wanting you to touch me, and you'd feel all stressed and cornered" Hermione said, angrily with tears burning in the corner of her eyes. She would not cry, she would not cry. Then she would just seem even more desperate for him to touch her than she already seemed by now.

"Blimey, Hermione. Why didn't you just tell me all this?" Ron looked shocked.

"Well, I bloody well couldn't, could I? Then you'd just feel more pressured thinking about that and-" Hermione put her hand over her mouth. She had just said a curse-word. Ron was grinning wildly at her.

"Oh, stop it, Ron!" Hermione gave Ron another hard punch over the shoulder. This time it quite hurt her hand.

"Hermione, you don't have to worry about this! You really didn't think I didn't want to touch you? Or kiss you? You're mad!" Ron said, now stroking her arms.

"It's your fault then! Why haven't you kissed me yet?" Hermione was feeling quite silly now, witch didn't necessarily make her less furious with Ron.

"If you really have to know.. the truth is I felt quite bad about, you know, what happened at Fred's.." pain shot across his face and Hermione got an urge to hug him and tell him it didn't matter, but then he spoke again, "I was all drunk and sad and, well, I felt bad about that being my first kiss to you. It felt like I was just using you for comfort, you know. But I didn't want it to be like that, so I thought that maybe I could just sweep you of your feet with a really good kiss," Hermione grinned at the expression sweep you of your feet, "and maybe you wouldn't think so much about that first kiss. But I got myself all worked up and I got really nervous, you know? And no time and place seemed good enough. And then today I was gonna do it, but then you just left and-"

"Kiss me" commanded Hermione.

"What?" asked Ron, like he hadn't heard her even though he had.

"Kiss me" she edged closer, so that he would be ready any time. She had been wanting to say those words for a long time now.

Ron grabbed her around the waist under the water, puller her tightly, and kissed her. His lips where wet from the water but so was hers. Hermione played with Ron's wet hair and pressed herself towards him. He pressed her lips opened, and stuck his tung in there searching for hers. Ron's hand sank, and dragged one of her legs upwards so that it was clutched around his hips.

"Oi! Look like Ron's the princess now!" George shouted at Hermione and Ron, as they stood there kissing.

The comment where met only with a rude hand gesture, but not from Ron. But from Hermione. It was met by a lot of "Oooooh"-s and she couldn't help but smile. She had wanted this kiss so badly, nothing was allowed to screw it up. Right then she could feel something poking against her inner thigh. Ron broke the kiss.

"Hermione! What's gotten into you?" he gaped, making sure there lower body parts no weren't touching.

"I guess you rub of on me" Hermione said, with a spark in her smile.

"Well, I like it!" Ron said, and Hermione couldn't quite make out the look on his face but it looked bewildered in some way.

In the background, Ginny where waiving with a pair of red bathing shorts. They seemed to belong to Harry, whom where standing in a rather odd position when trying to grab the shorts from Ginny with one hand while keeping one hand under water trying to hide what had been under them. Ginny passed them to George on the other side who threw them back.

"Shall we go and save our friend from your brother and sister, before we first-handed get to see if Harry is in fact a prince or a princess?" said Hermione behind a grin, still standing close to Ron.

"Yeah, but can you do something for me first?" Ron said.

"What?"

"Can you say bloody one more time? I'll give you a kiss" Ron grinned that bewildered smile.

"Oh, go eat Grubbfish" Hermione laughed and pushed Ron by the shoulders under the water before swimming to help Harry out.

"Definitely a prince!" Ron muttered as he resurfaced and swam after Hermione.


End file.
